Electrical connection terminal assembly



June 28, 1955 M. WIBELL ETAL 7 2,712,123

ELECTRICAL CONNECTION TERMINAL ASSEMBLY Filed Nov. 19, 1952 WITNESSES: INVENTORS Martin Wibell g 4 7y and Ralph B.Immel.

United States Patent (3 ELECTRICAL CONNECTION TERMINAL ASSEMBLY Martin Wibeli, Williamsville, and Ralph B. Immel, Buffaio, N. 1., assignors to Westinghouse Electric Corporation, East Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application November 19, 1952, Serial No. 321,316

Claims. (Cl. 339--246) Our invention relates, generally, to terminal connectors and, more particularly, terminal connectors for electrical devices, such as, by way of example, switches, receptacles, terminal blocks, relays, neutral bars, terminal strips and the like.

Most small electrical devices, such as snap switches, relays, terminal blocks, receptacles, etc. at present are provided with either terminal screws, or terminal connectors which must be soldered on the end of the wire. Terminals of the screw type are inconvenient as the wire must be looped before the connection can be made. In addition to being a time-consuming operation, the looping of a wire sometimes causes breakage of the wire. The soldering of a terminal clip or connector on a wire also requires considerable time and is, therefore, expensive. If the soldering operation is poorly performed, an imperfect connection is obtained. In addition to the foregoing disadvantages, most of the terminals previously available will not accommodate more than one Wire.

An object of our invention, generally stated, is to provide a terminal assembly which shall be simple and efiicient in operation and which may be economically manufactured and installed.

A more specific object of our invention is to provide a terminal connector which does not require bending or looping of the wire.

Another object of our invention is to provide a terminal connector which will securely hold more than one wire.

A further object of our invention is to provide a terminal connector which permits the wires to be inserted from more than one direction.

Other objects of our invention will be explained fully hereinafter or will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

In accordance with one embodiment of our invention, a generally rectangular metal clip has a downwardly bent projection at each one of its four corners and medial ribs disposed at right angles. The ribs may be formed by indenting the top surface of the clip. The clip and a lock washer are captively assembled on a screw which may be inserted into a threaded hole in a contact stud, terminal strip or the like. Wires may be inserted between the clip and the stud or strip from any one of four directions or from two opposite directions. The projections on the four corners retain the wires underneath the clip and the ribs indent the wires to hold them securely when the screw is tightened.

For a better understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference may be had to the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a view, in front elevation, of a switch provided with terminal assemblies embodying the principal features of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a view, in end elevation, of the switch shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view, in bottom plan, of the terminal connector;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view, partly in top plan and partly in section of the terminal connector;

2,712,123 Patented June 28, 1955 Fig. 5 is an enlarged view, partly in section and partly in elevation, of the terminal connector; and

Fig. 6 is an enlarged view, partly in section and partly in elevation, of the terminal connector utilized with a terminal strip or neutral bar.

Referring to the drawing, and particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, the structure shown therein comprises an electric switch housing 10 having contact studs or members 11 disposed therein for making the necessary electrical connections to the switch. As shown in Fig. 1, the switch is provided with four such contact members or terminals. As also shown in Fig. 1, it is frequently desirable to be able to insert the wires or conductors 12 from different directions in order to facilitate the making of the connections. It is also desirable to beable to connect more than one wire to a terminal.

In order to provide the foregoing desirable features in a terminal connector, we have devised the connector shown more clearly in Figs. 3 to 5. As shown, this connector comprises a generally rectangular metal clip 13 having a captive screw 14 centrally disposed in the clip 13 with a lock washer 15 disposed between the head of the screw and the top side of the clip 13. The clip 13 is preferably made from a relatively hard tempered metal and has a downwardly bent projection 16 at each one of its four corners. Medial ribs 17 are disposed at right angles on the bottom side of the clip 13. These ribs may be formed by indenting the top side of the clip. The clip 13 has a centrally disposed hole 18 therein for the screw 14 which is made captive in the clip to prevent the clip and the lock washer from coming oif the screw. The diameter of the hole 13 is slightly less than the outside diameter of the threads on the screw 14 which may be rolled on the shank of the screw after the washer 15 and the clip 13 are assembled on the screw.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the wires 12 may be inserted between the bottom side of the clip 13 and the top face of the contact stud 11, and the screw 14 tightened to compress the clip against the wires. The corners 16 retain the Wires underneath the clip, and the ribs 17 indent the wires, thereby securely holding the wires in place. A ledge or projection 19 on the switch housing 10 prevents the clip 13 from rotating as the screw 14 is tightened.

In this manner, the wires may be securely connected to the contact studs without it being necessary to form a loop on the end of each wire. Furthermore, the wires may be inserted underneath the clips from different directions and more than one wire may be readily inserted underneath one of the clips, thereby making it possible to connect two wires to the same terminal, which is frequently desirable.

As shown in Fig. 6, the present connector may be utilized for connecting wires to a conducting terminal strip or neutral bar 21 having spaced upwardly extending projections 22 thereon. The projections 22 are so spaced that a clip 13 may be installed between each pair of projections which prevent rotation of the clip. As shown, two wires or conductors 12 may be inserted underneath each clip, thereby increasing the number of connections which may be made to a neutral bar of a predetermined length. Furthermore, as previously explained, the wires may be inserted from opposite directions, thereby facilitating the making of the electrical connections. The projections 22 may be machined on the bar 21, or they may be formed in other well-known manners, such as by punching or pressing operations.

From the foregoing description it is apparent that we have provided a terminal assembly which is simple in construction and which is very effective in securely holding wires without it being necessary to provide a loop on the end of each wire. The wires may be inserted into are the connector from different directions and more than one wire may be installed in each connector.

Since numerous changes may be made in the above described construction and different embodiments of the invention may be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, it is intended that all the matter contained in the foregoing description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in. a limiting sense.

We claim as our invention:

1. A terminal connector comprising a generally rectangular metal clip having a downwardly bent projection at each corner and integrally formed medial ribs disposed atright angles on the bottom side of the clip, and a screw captively disposed in the clip.

2.. A terminal connector. comprising a generally rectangular metal clip having a downwardly bent projection at eachcorner and integrally formed medial ribs disposed at right angles on the bottom side of the clip, and a screw centrally disposed in the clip.

3. A terminal connector comprising a generally rectangular metal clip' having a downwardly bent projection at each corner and integrally formed medial ribs disposed at right angles on the bottom side of the clip, and a captive screw centrally disposed in the clip.

4. A terminal connector comprising a generally rectangular metal clip having a downwardly extending projection at each corner and integrally formed medial ribs disposed at right angles on the bottom side or" the clip, and a captive screw centrally disposed in the clip.

5. A terminal connector comprising a generally rectangular metal clip having a downwardly bent projection at each corner and medial ribs disposed at right angles 011 the bottom side of the clip, and a screw captively disposed in the clip, said ribs being integrally formed by indenting the topside ofthe ciigr.

References (Zi't'ed in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,554,169 B'ergan May 22, 1951 2,623,087 Latta Dec. 23, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 415,174 Germany June 23, 1925 

